Cruise_More_Often Posted October 27, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 27, 2006 The day we leave on the NCL Star, the Diamond Princess and the Island Princess will also be in port. I've thought it crowded with 2 ships in port and can't imagine what it will be like with 3. Where do they put everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban trekker Posted October 28, 2006 #2 Share Posted October 28, 2006 in a little over three months we will find out - guess we will be up early for the short trip to the pier from our hotels. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennett'sCruise Posted October 28, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 28, 2006 The day we leave on the NCL Star, the Diamond Princess and the Island Princess will also be in port. I've thought it crowded with 2 ships in port and can't imagine what it will be like with 3. Where do they put everyone? Hey, Adele ~ We've come back to San Pedro as one of three ships. We were disembarking and it was confusing ... but we had to find a bus to LAX (to pick up our car). Don't know what it would be like with 3 ships if you are embarking .... They will line up with one ship at the new terminal and two at the old. I would imagine they would put the Diamond Princess at the new terminal and the Star and Island P at the old. We MUCH PREFER the old terminal, but don't know what it would be like with two ships embarking there. I would definitely plan to get there early (by 10:15 a.m.). They will probably have a tent or two set up for waiting pax. ~d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KreinKrunker Posted October 28, 2006 #4 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Do Not Get There Too Early It is mass chaos. We boarded with the same two Princess ships, and an NCL ship in port. We got there about 10:30 am. There were still people getting off the ships. The shuttle drivers didn't know where to drop you off. The Porters wouldn't take incoming luggage until all the outgoing luggage was taken care of. We stood on a traffic island, six of us, with all our luggage for 45 minutes to an hour. We positioned ourselves just outside of the entrance that porters used, and snagged one of the first to take luggage in. Then we got in line to enter the terminal. After that it wasn't too bad, a 15 minute wait before they opened the terminal. Breezed through security, and no lines at check-in. There were lines all afternoon, but I think it was much less confusing, because there weren't people trying to catch shuttles, and people being dropped off at the same time. Upon return, we had to do immigration and customs, before getting off the ship. That was also chaos. We had red tags on Princess (first off), and weren't called until 10:00 am. Keep this in mind if flying out of LAX. We did make our 1:00 pm flight, by 20 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_More_Often Posted October 29, 2006 Author #5 Share Posted October 29, 2006 Thanks, Dianne and KreinKrunker! Sounds like waiting to go to the Port until a little later might not be a bad idea. We usually get there really early, so we'll have to try to be a little less excited. Luckily, we're driving, so on disembarkation we'll just snag a taxi to take us back to our hotel to pick up our car. Dianne, I saw on another post that you chose to do this rather than to wait for the hotel's van. Thanks again to both of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sing2sas Posted October 30, 2006 #6 Share Posted October 30, 2006 We are on the Norwegian Star March 6, 2007 and flying into LAX the day before. Where are the closest hotels and how much does a shuttle van or taxi cost from LAX to the port? We're trying to make plans now and haven't decided the best way. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinter Posted October 30, 2006 #7 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I would suggest that you spend a little time and look over the numerous posts on this forum about both topics. There is a ton of information already posted here. Use the search feature if you need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_More_Often Posted October 30, 2006 Author #8 Share Posted October 30, 2006 We are on the Norwegian Star March 6, 2007 and flying into LAX the day before. Where are the closest hotels and how much does a shuttle van or taxi cost from LAX to the port? We're trying to make plans now and haven't decided the best way. Any ideas?I can help a little. Two hotel suggestions are the Doubletree and the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro. I've stayed at the Crowne Plaza twice (this was when it was still a Sheraton property), and I have booked the Doubletree for the night before our cruise in February. The Doubletree has been getting good reviews; a friend stayed there earlier this month and loved it. If you're looking for something a little less expensive (we're paying $189 but that includes parking for the duration of the cruise), then there's the Best Western Sunrise, which is right across the street from the Terminal. We've flown into Long Beach Airport twice, never into LAX, so I'm of no help with the transportation to San Pedro. I know I have seen approximate costs on some websites. Try Googling for transportation and LAX. Here's a link (http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/travto.htm) to a San Pedro travel site that has lots of information. Have a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sing2sas Posted November 2, 2006 #9 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Thanks very much for the replies. The hotels close to the port sound interesting. I will do further checking on the subject and use the search feature. Nice to know there is already an abundance of information on the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KreinKrunker Posted November 2, 2006 #10 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Where are the closest hotels and how much does a shuttle van or taxi cost from LAX to the port? The two main shuttle companies are Prime Time, and Super Shuttle. Cost depends on how many people you have in your party. Since we had six, we had a shuttle all to ourselves. The advantage of this is that we had no waiting at the airport for more people, and we didn't have to drive all over the place dropping them off. Same on the return to LAX, from the pier straight to our airline drop off. The cost was about $65 each direction. I don't recall the exact cost for individuals, but $16 sticks in my head. Also, do a search for Karmel shuttle, I've seen that recommended here. We stayed at what is now the Crowne Plaza (it was a Sheraton in Feb 04). It was great waking up to see the ship out of the hotel window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodie2shoes Posted November 7, 2006 #11 Share Posted November 7, 2006 We sailed out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) last January on the Island Princess to Hawaii. There were three ships in when we boarded. As others have said, it was chaos. Lines were impossible, and they actually sent us away and told us to come back later. It was the latest we have ever been able to board a ship, and they were still bringing luggage on board when it was time to sail. The main topic of conversation all the way to Hawaii was how awful it was. When we returned there were 4 ships in port. One had to wait outside the harbor for us to get in and into our position.:eek: All I can say is don't bother to go early to the port. And when you do go, go with patience and a smile on your face. It will all be over soon!:) Don't mean to be negative, but just wanted to let you know that it happens often, but we do survive. After you are on the ship, forget about it! Have fun!!! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyBoy Posted November 8, 2006 #12 Share Posted November 8, 2006 SING2SAS - We cruised out of LA Harbor on the Diamond Princess on 9/30 to 10/3. We flew out to LA the Wednesday before and stayed 1 night at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro and 2 nights at the Westin Long Beach. Did some site seeing before the cruise. I bid on the hotels on Priceline and got the Crowne Plaza for $65/nite and the Westin for $85/night. We thought the Crowne Plaza was great, they have all new beds in the rooms and we slept great. San Pedro is nice, but there isn't a lot to do there. They do have the Port of Call, which is mostly resturants. If your only going to stay one night, stay at the Crowne Plaza. They really went out of the way to help us. Let me explain. Since we stayed in San Pedro first we needed a cab to go to Long Beach Westin. The hotel called for a cab but none came, because there were two cruise ships in port and all the cabs were at the pier. The hotel then packed us up and drove us all the way to the Westin in Long Beach for free, (of course we tipped the driver what it would have cost for a cab). That was really great service. The Westin is very upscale Business Traveler hotel. We thought it was somewhat stiff, however it is in a great location making it easy to see everything. Long beach has free buses to the Queen Mary, the Port where all the resturants are, etc. A ton of stuff to do there. We took the Super Shuttle back to LAX at $17/person, beware though, they tried to put another group on the shuttle with us. This group was flying out of Long Beach, and my wife yelled at the driver that we had to get to LAX and did not want to go back over two bridges to Long Beach. I know this was wordy, but I hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinter Posted November 8, 2006 #13 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Super Shuttle is just that...a shuttle. When you take a shuttle vs. a cab you are agreeing to take a full van, and make up to 3 stops between you and your destination. That is why it is cheaper than a cab. You should not have yelled at the driver...it is not his policy, and following your directions probably got him in trouble with the company. If your time is so tight, and you want an exclusive van, Super Shuttle will provide it (or you can take a cab) but they will charge you for that service. We had 3 ships in port in LA on the Island Princess a year ago (disembarkation) and it was a nightmare. We sat at the pier for over an hour before immigration came aboard, it was over a two hour wait to get cleared, and most people did not get off the ship until nearly noon. Try to avoid it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuizer2 Posted November 9, 2006 #14 Share Posted November 9, 2006 The day we leave on the NCL Star, the Diamond Princess and the Island Princess will also be in port. I've thought it crowded with 2 ships in port and can't imagine what it will be like with 3. Where do they put everyone? Those are the same three ships that were in port when I sailed on the NCL Star in October 2005. I was no big deal to me. All I had to do was make sure my luggage got to the right porter and that I got in the right line. Everything when quite smooth as far as I was concerned. Still, the CD was very happy when he announced that when we returned there would only be two ships in port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sing2sas Posted November 10, 2006 #15 Share Posted November 10, 2006 JerseyBoy, when you bid on Priceline and got the Crowne Plaza, did you specify San Pedro on your bid? Or did you try Long Beach too? I have won bids on Priceline several times and know that you have to be careful how big your area is, or you might wind up a long ways away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_More_Often Posted November 10, 2006 Author #16 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Thanks everyone for your replies! I've learned a few things about embarkation with three ships in port: Don't get to the Terminal too early; Make sure to go to the correct porter; Try to relax; Have a BIG daiquiri as soon as I'm onboard (maybe I'll have that daiquiri before I leave the hotel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tango223 Posted November 10, 2006 #17 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I was curious to know how one would find out about how many ships will be in port the day we embark and the day we disembark in San Pedro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuizer2 Posted November 11, 2006 #18 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I was curious to know how one would find out about how many ships will be in port the day we embark and the day we disembark in San Pedro? Well, there are two ways: 1) You could tell us what day you are referring to. or 2) You could look it up on http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban trekker Posted November 11, 2006 #19 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Try this one - it's for the Port of San Pedro - just click on the month that you are interested in and you will be able to see the various ships in port. http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/cruiscal.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tango223 Posted November 11, 2006 #20 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Thank you both for sending the link to the information. Looks like there will be only 1 ship (ours) there ! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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